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Young readers book reviews for ages 8 to 12 years old




*Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus...* by Kristen Tracy- young readers book review
 
Also by Kristen Tracy:

Bessica Lefter Bites Back

The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter
Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus...
by Kristen Tracy
Ages 9-12 304 pages Delacorte August 2009 Hardcover    

Camille McPhee is suffering from loneliness because her best friend, who left town to live in Japan, has seemingly forgotten her. She has managed to “fly under the radar” despite having an embarrassing health condition – low blood sugar. She doesn’t really fear the illness so much as the embarrassment of having to carry bits of food around - and possibly fainting. She's holding up pretty well.

But then she has the bad luck to fall under a bus. Well, she doesn’t exactly fall under the bus. But that hardly matters. Rumor has it that she did. And rumor is a hard thing to deal with when you’re a kid with no ally to turn to.

At first she does her best to avoid school, but her plan only compounds the problem. She can’t quite tell her mother what’s happening in her life, because her mother is going through some weird mom crisis which is annoying her father no end.

The world of adult stress – as well as that of tween stress – is seen through a kid’s eye. Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus... is a great little book about childhood stress and fear. It’s a funny novel with a wry sense of humor and a vocabulary most kids will be able to understand.

To an adult reading this book, the pain of the situation is evident, but author Kristen Tracy walks a fine line. On the one hand, Camille’s stress is evident. On the other hand, the book is not depressing. Neither does Tracy make fun of Camille’s fears, illnesses, or worries.

Camille is a spunky little heroine who understands the embarrassment, pain, and isolation in the lives of others. She’s a compassionate kid, and she’s a survivor. As an adult reading the book, I found a healing quality and a sadness mixed in with the pluck. I like that. It's as if the author understands childhood embarrassment from having actually lived it and somehow created a book that will be healing for children who have to learn how to survive childhood horror.
 
Young readers book reviews for ages 8 to 12 years old

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  Carole McDonnell/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book  






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